ESSAY
My
Turn
By Rober t A. Weisberg, DO ’66 In this special “My Turn,” Robert A. Weisberg, DO ’66, contends that the first DO draft in 1967 vastly advanced the osteopathic profession. Dr. Weisberg served in Vietnam with the Army’s 9th Infantry Division’s Mobile Riverine Force. For his valiant service, he was awarded three Bronze Stars, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal and the Vietnam Cross of (circa 1967) Dr. Weisberg in the Mekong Delta. Gallantry. Upon his return to civilNonetheless, we were commonly ian life, he acted as executive medbetter trained than our non-rotating, ical director for Geriatric Medical Centers for 30 years. He continues to internship-trained, single-focused allobe member of a five-physician group pathic counterparts (even though, as Dr. Perrotta points out, none of us and is the medical director of Albert could outrank any MD since most Einstein Subacute Care Center. allopathic physicians who were drafted had completed their specialty training According to research by Augustine Perrotta, DO, chairman of medicine at and, therefore, held higher ranks in the military). We were indispensable in Henry Ford Hospital, Warren County, medical support services, and at once Michigan, in July 1967, 113 doctors earned the respect of non-medical offiof osteopathic medicine were drafted into military service—and many served cers and enlisted personnel. In combat, no one knew or cared to differentiate between 1967 and 1969, the height between osteopathic and allopathic of the Vietnam War. This was the physicians; we were the soldiers’ first DO draft in U.S. history and the “docs,” their confidants and fellow first time DOs were recognized as heroes on the front lines. physicians by the U.S. military. All osteopathic physicians serving in Each of us was completing our the Vietnam War emerged as leaders rotating internship when we were and well-trained health care practitioncalled into service, so when we were ers. Through our daily work, we inducted as general medical officers, we had a little scope of various areas of became “real doctors.” We had to be medicine—including emergency room recognized by the allopathic profession. In fact, our drafting and military work. While some of us had the service did more for the osteopathic opportunity to become specialists in profession than any single individual fields needed by the military at the or group did—or could have done— time as “on the job trainees,” we were since the founding of osteopathy in not considered trained specialists.
1874. Because of our service, doors that had been previously closed to DOs were opened. Osteopathic physicians were welcomed into post-graduate programs and were offered staff privileges at widespread hospitals. In the PCOM Class of 1966, the following were among those 113 physicians who received the first DO draft notice: Peter F. Arino; John T. Barbagiovanni, Sr.; Irwin Beckman; Elliot Blau; Thomas A. DiLiberto; Joseph M. DiMino; Richard M. DiMonte, Sr.; John M. Doherty; Robert C. Donlick; Ralph E. Fishkin; Donald J. Fruchtman; Domenic L. Gentile; Bruce J. Hall; Richard L. Kahan; Ronald A. Kirschner; Herman L. Lakritz; Richard D. Lynch; Alex S. Macaione; Bernard F. Master; Rabbi Merrill J. Mirman; William F. Ranieri; Gerald M. Reed; Vincent S. Reina; Norman F. Ruttenberg; Kerwin H. Seiden; Thomas M. Swartzwelder; and myself. We, 27 draftees, represented approximately 33 percent of our medical school graduating class and 24 percent of the first osteopathic physicians drafted in the war. And we represented approximately 10 percent of all national physicians (osteopathic and allopathic) drafted in 1967. Robert A.Weisberg, DO ’66
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